Once you have a successfully bonded pair you want them to stay that way. There are a few simple things you can do to help prevent fall outs in everyday potential conflict situations.
| 1) Keep your Boars INDOORS. This makes all of the below easier as you are more likely to spot a potential problem & distract them or see if a pig is being bullied by his cage mate. It has all sorts of other benefits. See our Indoor Boars page |
| 2) Keep pairs of Boars away from SOWS. The smell of the ladies makes the boars more likely to challenge one another for dominance and can make any fights that do occur more serious. Sometimes boars can live happily next to sows. Sometimes they don 't... so avoid this if possible for the best chance of them remaining friends. See the bottom of our Boars with Sows page. |
| 3) Give them 2 OF EVERYTHING. 2 bowls, 2 hiding holes or more if possible. That way each has their own food & their own space to get away... so less to fight over. |
| 4) SPACE, SPACE & MORE SPACE! The bigger your Boars quarters the better as not only will you be able to fill it with all sorts of distractions to keep them amused but they will have space to get away from each other should they wish to (as like us, they sometimes do!). Check out the Cavy Cages website for great information on making a C&C cage. You can make these cages as interesting as your space/imagination allows. With ramps and second layers,the possibilities are endless. It also gives the boars more to keep them occupied. |
5) Watch them at MEAL TIMES. Do they squabble over veg? Is one pig getting more than his fair share? We distract our Dominant piggy Prince and hand feed veg to his friend Spam as Prince always wants what he's got. If feeding is a major issue of contention in your boars abode then avoid it escalating by feeding separately. Taking one pig out while you feed the other and vice-versa. Note: Watching at meal times can help you identify BULLYING, please visit the Bullying Page for further details. Please also weigh your pigs regularly and record their weights. A loss of more than 2oz requires investigation. |
| 6) Think carefully about BATHTIMES. As bathing pigs alter the smell of them which can cause problems with boars. Bathing needs to be done to prevent skin problems. We used to bath our pigs together to reduce stress but Hugo & Rainbow had to be separated immediately following a bath. We think this was possibly as both smells had altered. So we know bath separately, one after the other. |
| 7) If you give one boar a STRONG SMELLING TREATMENT like Vic's or an Oil Soak make sure you give the other the same. This is because pigs (Boars & Sows) react to the other smelling quite different from what they are used to. They are fine when they both smell alike. |
8) Apart from Baths, where possible keep them TOGETHER. Avoid separating them for any length of time. For example if one piggy is going to the vet, try take his pal. If they are separated for any reason for a long time (e.g. contagious illness) then don't just put them back together when they are ready. You will need to re-introduce them following the Introducing an adult process. |
Good luck! May your boars live happily ever after! If they do please e-mail us & let us know your tips to add to this list.
If things don't work out check out our Boar separation page... it might help.
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